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| THE 2006 / 8TH ANNUAL HIPHOPSITE BEST AND WORST LIST | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The long-awaited, highly anticipated, 2006 HHS Best and Worst List is here. As usual, this list represents what WE thought was or wasn't "the shit" this year. Probably has little in common with any other best / worst lists you'll find elsewhere. But hey. THE 10 BEST MAJOR LABEL RELEASES OF THE YEAR: 1. The Roots - "Game Theory" - Def Jam Honorable Mentions: Ghostface Killah "More Fish", Busta Rhymes "The Big Bang", Obie Trice "Second Round's On Me", Mobb Deep "Blood Money" THE 10 BEST INDIE LABEL RELEASES OF THE YEAR: 1. J. Dilla - "Donuts" - Stones Throw Honorable Mentions: Glue - "Catch As Catch Can", Army of The Pharoahes "The Torture Papers", Jedi Mind Tricks "Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell", Madlib "The Beat Konducta: Movie Scenes", Akir "Legacy", The Coup "Pick A Bigger Weapon", Zion I & Grouch "Heroes In The City Of Dope", Molemen "The Killing Fields", Ugly Duckling "Bang For The Buck", and many more. THE 10 BEST HIP-HOP ALTERNATIVES OF
THE YEAR 1. Gnarls Barkley - "St. Elsewhere" (Cee-Lo &
Danger Mouse) Honorable Mention: She Wants Revenge (Justin Warfield & DJ Adam 12) THE 10 BEST MAJOR LABEL SINGLES OF THE YEAR: 1. Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy" - Atlantic Honorable Mention: Justin Timberlake "Sexy Back" THE FIVE WORST SINGLES OF THE YEAR: 1. Kevin Federline - "Popozo" THE 10 BEST EMCEES OF THE YEAR: 1. JAY-Z - We all knew that Jay's retirement wouldn't last long, and in 2006, the "Mike Jordan of Recording" returned to the game. Despite a lukewarm critical response, Jay forced hip-hop to grow up with the release of "Kingdom Come", tackling more mature concepts, with his usual brand of accessible, yet intricately and intelligently penned lyrics. This year, we gladly welcomed back the king of hip-hop. 2. NAS - In the year's most surprising move, Nas united with former enemy, Jay-Z, for his first new release under the Def Jam banner. As perhaps the game's most visually poetic lyricist, Nas wasn't afraid to criticize and examine the problems with hip-hop music and industry, despite the fact that he ruffled a few feathers with the bold declaration that "Hip-Hop Is Dead". 3. LUPE FIASCO - First appearing in 2005 on albums from Kanye West and Fort Minor, Chicago's Lupe Fiasco made his official debut in 2006 on Atlantic, under the watchful eye of Jay-Z, who executive produced "Food & Liquor". Lupe has in fact been compared to his presidential mentor, thanks to his similarly styled intricacy, yet his unapologetic backpack mentality (referencing things like giant robots and skateboarding) makes him one of the most unique emcees holding a major label contract today. 4. APATHY - As one of the game's most promising, yet relatively unknown talents, Atlantic Recording artist, Apathy, released his magnum opus, "Eastern Philosophy", independently via Babygrande Recordings. Once pigeonholed as a "battle rapper", Ap used his official debut to show his ridiculous talent and versatility, with insanely visual tales ("The Winter"), hilarious braggadocio ("1000 Grams"), and extended metaphors ("Chemical"), on this beautiful ode to 1990's hip-hop. All Ap needs now is a big artist to co-sign him, and he's a star. 5. BLACK THOUGHT - The Roots saw a return to form with "Game Theory", and like always, Black Thought kept on course with his Philly-born style. As one of the last great emcees of a forgotten era, Thought uses the old school aesthetics of a Big Daddy Kane to examine the socio-political issues of today's society - and doesn't miss a beat doing it. 6. CLIPSE (MALICE AND PUSHA-T) - Drug rap, as a whole, is pretty boring, but except when the two dope boys in a Cadillac are real-life siblings, Malice and Pusha-T. Like M.O.P. is to guns, The Clipse pack a certain amount of humor, wit, glamour, and sarcasm into the rhymes about pushing blow, that you can't help but enjoy it - even if you go to church on Sundays. 7. THE GAME - Sure, The Game may have traded in his penchant for name dropping into a penchant for worshipping Dr. Dre and Aftermath - despite his exodus from the label, but that didn't make him any less dynamic of a lyricist with "The Doctor's Advocate". One of the most interesting and controversial emcees of the year, Game is one of the few rappers that leaves fans listening to every word that comes out of his mouth. Just ask Nas, who invited Game to be one of the few emcees to join him on "Hip-Hop Is Dead", next to Jay-Z and Snoop. 8. T.I. - There simply isn't an emcee cooler than T.I. - period. He may not be spitting the wisdom of Socrates, but he's got an unbelievably stylish delivery and swagger for days. King of the south, hands down. 9. OBIE TRICE - Obie stepped his game up in 2006 with the release of "Second Round's On Me", proving that he is well-deserving of his position on the Shady Records roster. With incredibly penned, technically complex, yet street driven verses all over the album, Obie defined himself as a true lyricist, and obviously the label's second most talented artist. 10. E-40 - Frontman for the Bay Area's "hyphy movement", E-40 got his "second wind" with the release of "My Ghetto Report Card". As usual, we saw the 40 Water integrating more of his usual, exclusive slang into the mix, but also a barrage of endlessly hilarious rhymes. Under the watchful eye of Rick Rock and Lil Jon, you will not understand the appeal of the hyphy movement until you hear this record. Honorable Mentions: Ghostface, Eminem, Murs, Lil' Wayne, Blueprint, Mr. Lif, Murs, Celph Titled (Bo$$ Hog Barbarians), Ludacris THE TOP 10 PRODUCERS OF THE YEAR: 1. J. Dilla (Donuts, The Shining) - Hip-Hop lost one of its greatest artists in 2006, eerily two days after the release of his magnum opus, "Donuts". While one could look at "Donuts" as simply a series of unreleased beats, in his brilliance, Dilla sewed the album together like one long continuous mixtape - one that could even be played on an infinite loop, as it started and finished with the same "Donut". Some of these instrumentals came to fruition with emcees attached, on full-lengths from The Roots, Ghostface, and Dilla's own "The Shining". 2. Timbaland (Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado) - Yeah, his hip-hop production may have been a bit sparse this year (Young Jeezy), but Timbaland easily showed his brilliance as a producer on albums from Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado - which we're basically hip-hop beats anyway. It doesn't matter who he is producing for - the man is brilliant. But please give us some big rap shit this year, Timbo - that is, if you aren't too expensive now. 3. Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley) - After riding the wave of Gorillaz and Danger Doom in 2005, Danger Mouse did it again with Cee-Lo Green, teaming up as Gnarls Barkley. Proving that all Cee-Lo needed was the right producer (and the right push), the two crafted one of the best albums of the year with "St. Elsewhere" - and he did it with traditional hip-hop beats. Look for much more from the Mouse in '07, starting with The Good, The Bad, and The Queen with Gorillaz leader Damon Albarn. 4. Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (The Roots) - Constantly evolving their sound, The Roots amazed fans - yet again - with their now classic, "Game Theory", which found frontman Thompson infusing sample based production with the group's usual live sound. Sarcastic, yet excited, cries of "turn that real shit off!" were heard coming from the mailroom the first time this album was played at the HHS office. 5. Will.I.Am (The Game, Nas, Justin Timberlake, Sergio Mendes) - Whoa? Did Will make a comeback or what? We swear he must read this column, after we announced his falling off here a couple of years back. Will came back with a vengeance, proving that he can do it all - from the grimiest street song (The Game's "Compton") to the biggest pop hits (Fergie's "Fergalicious"), and it amazingly all sounds good. Will has come a LONG way in the last year, and he will be the go-to-guy in 2007. Bonus points for remixing Sergio Mendes for today's audience. 6. Just Blaze (Jay-Z, The Game, T.I.) - Justin Blaze and The Blazette's took it back to basics this year, channeling Public Enemy on tracks for Jay-Z ("Show Me What U Got") and The Game ("The Remedy"). But Just was also found digging deeper on songs like "Oh My God" (Jay-Z) and "Talkin' To You" (T.I.). Not forgetting about the underground, Blaze also was found working with Naledge of Kidz In The Hall, plus prepping Saigon's 2007 Atlantic release. 7. The Neptunes (Clipse) - While we weren't exactly feeling what The Neptunes gave Ms. Stefani this year, and Pharrell's LP was a let down, the Neptunes totally reinvented themselves with Clipse's "Hell Hath No Fury" LP. Call it future-throwback, the 'Tunes took a risk with this surprisingly lo-fi approach to their production, inventing new styles of beats not yet heard elsewhere. They also kept busy with Lupe Fiasco, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Sleepy Brown, and T.I., among others. 8. Lil' Jon (E-40, Too Short) - Crunk ain't dead, as long as Lil' Jon is still out there. Even so, instead of fading into obscurity after a quiet 2006 (not to mention a slight upstaging by Mr. Collipark), Lil' Jon adapted to new club-music styles, infusing his style into hyphy beats for E-40 and Too Short, and embracing "snap music", with his own mega-anthem, "Snap Ya Fingaz". Say what you want about Jon, but nobody has such an infectious and crisp sound. Wisely, Jon held his album "Crunk Rock" for 2007, making the coming year all his. 9. Kanye West (The Game, Nas, John
Legend) - Kanye did not have had any big full-length
LP's on his resume this year, like he did with Common's "Be" or
his own "Late Orchestration" in 2005. Nevertheless, he reminded
us why he is one of the most consistent producers in the game
the few times he did show his face this year, such as on Game's
"Wouldn't Get Far" and Nas' "Still Dreaming". Look for him to
making big noise again in 2007 with Common's "Finding Forever",
and his third LP, "Graduation". Honorable Mentions: Swizz Beatz, Rick Rock, 9th Wonder, RJD2, El-P, Salaam Remi, L.E.S, Maker, Young Einstien, Chum The Skrilla Guerilla, Hi-Tek, J-Zone, Aloe Blacc, Madlib LYRICS: 20 HOT VERSES OF 2006 1. Best Rhyme About Hip-Hop:
Nas "Where Are They Now" FALLING DOWN: 1. Dame Dash - Too much Sam Rothstien? Maybe it was the fact that Dame Dash was handing out record deals like they were fruit baskets back in the early two-thousands, at one point having over 20+ artists on Roc-A-Fella Records. Perhaps he felt there was "no limit" to the amount of talent that could be under one roof: Oschino and Sparks, Young Steff, everyone. But with a dissipation of the label, the remaining artists were split up between Def Jam, Dame Dash Music Group, and the street corner, ending off in a not-so-private feud with Jay-Z. His last saving grace for his imprint was the final, posthumous LP from Dirt McGirt, but even that is having a hard time seeing release, as it's tied up in litigation with the estate of Ol' Dirty Bastard. And that's enough to make a "nuh" go craaaaaaaazy. 2. G-Unit: SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR ON THE LIST! Not exactly a banner year for G-Unit, who delivered the aptly titled "Rotten Apple" LP from Lloyd Banks, and the sales-stinker, "Blood Money", from Mobb Deep (hey, we liked it). Things continue to look bleak for the Unit, especially considering that albums from Olivia, Young Buck, and Young Hot Rod (AYO!) didn't make it out the gate this year, despite the fact that singles were released for each of them. Hey, 50, at least you successfully cock-blocked Game from getting any Dr. Dre beats (who still outsold all of your other artists that released albums this year). G-G-G-G-G-Great job, man. 3. Ying Yang Twins - Sure, "Wait" was gimmicky and fun, but when it comes down to it, these two stupid motherfuckers are a complete embarrassment and probably the worst thing to happen to hip-hop, ever. So it's probably good that their latest album, "Mentally Retarded" - whoops, we mean, "Chemically Imbalanced", flopped. With Mr. Collipark already rehashing their past hits for "1st Booty On Duty" and Wyclef "Shakira! Shakira!" Jean jizzing all over "Dangerous", as Chris Rock would say, the Ying Yang Twins "need a hit like a crackhead need a hit." Or perhaps that should be re-phrased to: "The Ying Yang Twin crackheads need a hit". Either is fine. 4. Jazze Pha - "Ladies. And. Gentlemen. Fizzle! Jazze Pha..." How many times have you heard this? If you heard Too Short's album, you heard it about 6 times within the first 10 seconds of each Pha produced song - each of which were all back-to-back. Jazze Pha's nauseating, vomit inducing skating rink beats, syrupy hooks, and redundant mating calls might be good for Ciara, but it didn't exactly create any memorable summer-jams for Young Buck, Pimp C, Field Mob, or anyone other rappers he produced for. Let's face it, he's just about all Fizzled out. 5. DMX - Can you believe this guy had the nerve to call his album "Year Of The Dog, Again"? Last time we checked, DMX wasn't Chinese, (well shit, he doesn't look Chinese), so we're guessing that this wasn't a reference to the 2006 Chinese New Year. Wait, was he talking about himself? Oooooooh, we get it, because he's the dog, with all that barking and whatnot, and it was year of the... yeah, okay... Yeah, that makes sense now. But... nobody bought his album, so why would it be called....? Ah...yeah, okay, right.... Yeah, bad move. 6. Dishonorable Mention: Benzino
- Well, okay, it's not like this guy was ever "on" in
the first place. But since Benzino, along with Dave Mays, got
Donald Trumped by Black Enterprise (The Source's parent
company), it's pretty unlikely that we'll ever hear an album or
anything else from him again, now that he can't use his magazine
as to further his "career". Good riddance. THE 5 MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS OF THE YEAR: 1. Mos Def - "True Magic" - Maybe he should change his name to Almos Def? There are so many things wrong with this album, it's hard to know where to begin. It's obvious that nobody - from the artist to the label - gave a good got damn about this record, which featured Mos Def lazily crooning over old beats from GZA and Juvenile, making it obvious he phoned it in during the filming of "16 Blocks". Not to mention, the CD itself, shipped in an empty CD case, with no production credits or booklet whatsoever, for "eco-friendly reasons". It has a triangle symbol on the CD case, which we think means that it will disintegrate into the ground after fans throw it in the garbage after one listen. This is a case where the record label was just asking the customer to download the album illegally off of the internet. 2. Pharrell Williams - "In My Mind" - We had high hopes for this album, given the creative individual that Skateboard P is. But given the fact that Pharrell traded in his cool, laid back rhyme-style for gushing R&B, all we got was disappointment. At least he and ?uestlove are re-recording a live version of the album for re-release this year. Hopefully the new version will correct the mistakes of the original. 3. Jurassic 5 - "Feedback" - With Cut Chemist out of the picture, this was just the first of many problems with J5's "Feedback". In addition to an overall watering down of their sound, the crew attempted to go after the Shrek audience by tapping....DAVE MATTHEWS BAND for a collaboration, signaling an overall low point in their career. 4. DJ Shadow - "The Outsider" - Shadow meant well with his third official full-length, but instead delivered a mess of sounds and styles that was half-hyphy, half-snobby, pissing off everyone in the process. Shadow was publicly very defensive about his decision on the direction to take "The Outsider", but let's face it, when people expect "The Godfather", you can't give them "Soul Plane". 5. The Return of Dr. Octagon - Any time an artist tries to rely on past glories long after their prime, you know the album is destined to suck balls. Such is the case of "The Return of Dr. Octagon", which, to it's credit, found Keith tackling important issues such as "gorillas driving a pick up truck" and "flies having sex". However the masturbatory production of Daft Punk wannabe's, One Watt Sun, attempted to upstage Keith (and Automator before them), but only succeeded in, well, ball-sucking. HIP-HOP MILESTONES OF 2006: 1. The Source Magazine fires David Mays and
Ray Benzino 2006 RAP CRIME TRACKER:
BEEF: MEMORABLE BATTLES OF 2006 1. Dipset Vs. Jay-Z - Winner: Jay-Z BEST USES OF HIP-HOP IN POPULAR CULTURE 1. MF Doom hosts Adult Swim Christmas Eve WORST USES OF HIP-HOP IN POPULAR CULTURE 1. VH1's Flavor Of Love 2006 BITCH MOVES OF THE YEAR 1. Cristal Doesn't Care About Black People: In an interview with Economist Magazine, when asked how he felt about hip-hop artists unofficially endorsing the drink, Cristal president Louis Roederer had this to say: "What can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business." This accidentally racist comment sent tremors through the hip-hop community, even sparking a boycott of Cristal, led by Jay-Z. A backpeddling Roederer made the following retort: "A house like Louis Roederer would not have existed since 1776 without being totally open and tolerant to all forms of culture and art, including the most recent musical and fashion styles which - like hip-hop - keep us in touch with modernity." Is it us, or does the second comment seemed even more racist than the first? 2. The Doctor Advocate's 50 Cent: Do the 'math. Perhaps the post-Death Row era Dr. Dre didn't want to deal with any more rap-beef in his old age, or maybe he just looked at the numbers? Whatever the case is, riddle me this, Batman: how do you let an artist that has been in the game just over 5 years (50 Cent) disrespect your 20+ year legacy by telling you what's what? That's exactly what happened in 2006, after 50 publicly threatened to take his act elsewhere if Dr. Dre had any participation in Game's "The Doctor's Advocate" LP. Throughout 2006, everyone wondered what the good Doctor would do - take 50's side, or stick with his artist. Even Game himself was in the dark, just three months before the release date, as to whether or not the songs he recorded with Dre would make the LP, or if it would even be released on Aftermath. The end result was 5x platinum Game being dropped from Aftermath (for Geffen) with no involvement from Dr. Dre on his album. Game, however, got the last laugh, by outselling Lloyd Banks in his first week alone, and also appearing on a Dr. Dre track on Nas' album. Aftermath recording artist, Busta Rhymes, who appeared on "The Doctor's Advocate", put it best in regards to the situation, in an interview with SOHH: "I do what I want. Number one, I'm a grown man. Number two, I don't got issues with other people. And number three, Busta Rhymes been around longer than all of these dudes that got issues with each other." It's disappointing that Dre couldn't take the same stance. 3. Media Likes The "Rapper Kills Cop" Angle: This one happened right in our own backyard, yet garnered national attention, even coverage by Bill O'Rielly, thanks to it's media distorted headline. Aspiring rapper, Amir Crump of Desert Mobb - who did not have a record deal or even a record with any kind of national distribution - murdered LVPD Officer Henry Prendes, then shortly after, killed himself. This spiraled out of control, leading Sheriff Bill Young on a crusade against "gangster rap", attempting to ban it from casinos and Las Vegas venues - meaning that it could not be played in clubs, and rappers themselves would not be welcome in any of the city's fine establishments. Thankfully the initiative failed, with Young pulling out of the re-election race mid-way through the year. While a tragic story indeed, what was wrong with this, is that the media played up the "rapper kills cop" angle, despite the fact that he was more or less a nobody, never appearing on television or the radio. We can guess that if he instead, we don't know, found some missing scuba divers, the media would make no mention of the fact that he was a rapper, because it's irrelevant (just as it is in this case). But because the media does not like rap or the people that make it, this was a great way to tarnish the image of hip-hop music and culture. Protect your families, America, because a bloodthirsty, murderous rapper might try to crawl through the window and harm them. 4. Kanye West Is For The Children: It was cool when Ol' Dirty did it some eight years ago, but after losing "Best Video" to Justice Vs. Simian's "We Are Your Friends", Kanye exploded onto the stage in a fit. West rambled on about how his video should have won because it "cost a million dollars, fam!" and how if he doesn't win, "the award show loses credibility". Totally ruining the other artist's acceptance speech, Kanye embarrassed himself - and hip-hop - by acting like a spoiled child. 5. Cam'Ron Acts Like He Is Jay-Z's Biggest Fan: Perhaps Cam'ron wanted to hear a new Jay-Z album so badly that he figured if he dissed him enough times, he could goad him out of retirement. That can be the only explanation for Cam's year-long obsession with Jay-Z, that resulted in several dis songs that seemingly didn't even make a blip on Jigga's radar, as the presidential emcee neglected him a response record. After sending Beyonce dirty text messages and obsessing over Jay-Z's sandals, Jay finally embarrassed him and the whole Dipset crew with his "Brooklyn High" cover of "We Fly High". DOIN' DUMB SHIT: THE 2006 RAP DARWIN AWARDS 1. Ghostride The Whip…TO YOUR DOOM - Alright look. We love the E-40 album, we love The Pack, we love The Team, we wear our stunna shades at night, even. But "ghostriding the whip", the Bay Area phenomenon that's taking the nation by storm, is the dumbest shit we've ever heard of. (But according to the Hyphy movement, that is a compliment.) Here, the act is to get out of your still moving vehicle and, um, dance, on the top of the hood as it travels. There have already been two deaths caused by the craze - but more importantly, how can this be cool in the hood if this guy can do it better than anyone? 2. Rapper's Album Works As FAQ For Feds - Aspiring Bushwick rapper, Big Chef, helped cops close a 16 month crackhouse investigation, that was going on right inside the housing project featured on his album cover. Bragging that he was "the 500 gram cooker" and "the bag twister" on the album, as well as naming several of his accomplices in the album's liner notes, the end result was 21 arrests, after officers made over 160 buys from Chef and members of his crew. 3. Game Loses DVD Distribution, But Gains Broken Basketball Rim - Perhaps this was the nail in the coffin as to why Dre would not work with Game on "The Doctor's Advocate". Early in the year, on the "Stop Snitchin' Stop Lyin" DVD, Game and his entourage are shown creeping into 50's backyard and stealing his basketball rim after an all-too-successful slam-dunk. Described as "a video that shows Game participating in a criminal act", Universal decided they wanted nothing to do with the distribution of the project, instead bouncing it to Bungaloo Records. 4. DMX Would Rather Bark Than Put On His Seatbelt - Perhaps DMX was sour that nobody was buying his new album, "Year of The Dog, Again", or maybe that the shirtless rapper was having a hard time getting his new clothing line off the ground (go figure). But DMX once again got himself into trouble at an airport, when refusing to put on his seatbelt, even after asked politely by stewardesses with British accents. Instead, he choose to bark uncontrollably at them, and also, get himself arrested. That's gangsta. 5. Fergie Loses Big At Spelling Bee - When asked on MTV's TRL why she chose to spell her album title "The Dutchess", rather than the correct spelling "The Duchess", she got uncomfortable and replied, "Uh, well, I just like to be different, and do my own thing, I guess". No, actually, you are a dumb bitch without a spell-checker. ROOKIES OF THE YEAR: 1. Lupe Fiasco 50 REASONS TO LIVE ANOTHER YEAR (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER) This stream-of-consciousness list only scratches the surface of what will be released in 2007. A good 15% of this stuff will not see the light of day in 2007, and 5% of it will never see the light of day at all. Oh, don't get all depressed now. Shit. 1. Dr. Dre - "Detox" - Aftermath REST IN PEACE: J. Dilla |
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